Causes and Prognosis of Unilateral and Bilateral Optic Disc Swelling

The authors reviewed 93 consecutive cases with optic disc swelling (ODS) to compare clinical manifestations and prognosis among the causes. Among unilateral ODS patients ≥50 years old and without pain, anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy accounted for 87.5%. Furthermore, papilloedema (PE) presented unilateral ODS with an atrophic or hypoplastic disc in the opposite eye. Despite no differences for age and initial visual acuity between PE and pseudopapilloedema, the two main causes of bilateral ODS, some PE patients showed poor visual prognosis. Understanding differences in frequencies and clinical features of ODS related to cause and age group can help to accurately determine cause and predict outcome.